GOOD vs EVIL: Ghost Wanted
by Owennumber1fan
Summary: While E.V.I.L works on rebuilding the Reality Gauntlet, Danny finds his homecoming ruined by the newest member of L.A.M.E: Freakshow.
1. Running for the Gauntlet

Disclaimer: All characters are copyright their respective owners. Disclaimer is copyright the Disclaimer Company of Weehauken, NJ.

G.O.O.D vs. E.V.I.L #7

The Reality Saga pt.1: Ghost Wanted

_Vilgax's spaceship, 6:00 a.m._

In their spaceship headquarters, all of the members of the Enclave of Villains & Insignificant Lackeys had been summoned.

"What do you suppose this is about?" Drakken asked Jack.

"Beats me, I just hope none of us are getting fired" he replied.

Just then, Vilgax himself strode into the room. "I hope this is important Vilgax" Magnacat said.

"Yeah, what's up?" Magness asked.

"Are any of you familiar with the Reality Gauntlet?" Vilgax asked.

"I know of it" Magnacat said, "but last I heard, it was destroyed."

"True, but I have no intention of letting that stop me" Vilgax replied. "I have discovered a way to recreate the Gauntlet and all its' powers. Which is why I have called all of you here. You are going to head to the four corners of the globe to obtain for me items that will allow me to achieve this goal."

"Is this going to be painful in any way?" Jack asked, his hand raised "cause my doctor said I should avoid pain at all costs."

"The only pain you shall experience is at my hands if you do not do as you are commanded!" Vilgax shouted.

Jack swallowed nervously and said nothing.

"I shall divide you into teams based on your unique abilities" Vilgax continued "each team will then be assigned an item to retrieve. Once you obtain it, return to the spaceship immediately. Are there any further questions?"

No one spoke.

"Very well than" Vilgax said "then I shall begin dividing the teams."

-----

_Gothic castle, an unknown location, 6:12 a.m._

As Vilgax plotted, however, another evil genius was sitting and waiting for a piece of news that would allow him to achieve his goal of world conquest.

The door to the room opened and a scraggly individual entered. He wore a white labcoat and sneakers, navy blue pants, a light blue shirt and a red bowtie. He had black square-rimmed glasses, a bowl-style haircut and some stubble on his face.

"I trust you have good news for me, Dr. Trebla" Phibes asked.

"Indeed sir" Dr. Trebla said "I did some research, and you were right, there is another Reality Gauntlet."

"As I had hoped" Phibes replied, "very soon, I shall have the device I need to help me conquer the vorld and obtain immortality!"

"There is just one thing sir" Dr. Trebla began "I haven't actually been able to find any information concerning the whereabouts of said gauntlet. However, I do know somebody who might know where it is, but he's currently imprisoned by the government."

"Yes, that does provide a bit of a problem, doesn't it?" Phibes said "I suppose I could use my newly assembled team of super villains, but I think I have a better idea. Dr. Trebla, find the location of vere this mystery man is being held" he ordered "rather than vaste my own operatives, I'm going to let the government hand him over to me."

"And just how do you plan to do that Dr. Phibes?" Dr. Trebla asked.

"Everyone, has a price, Dr. Trebla" Phibes explained "it's simply a matter of finding the closest government agent und discovering vat theirs is."

-----

_Xiaolin Temple, China 7:15 a.m. _

The team of Jack Spicer & Vlad Plasmius beamed down a few feet from the door of the temple.

"I really wish I didn't have to be picked for this assignment" Jack said "nearly every time I've gone here I've ended up having my butt handed to me."

"Well you're the only one who knows the layout of this place" Plasmius explained "besides, it's very early, I doubt those monks are even up."

"Good point" Jack said "Okay, let's get to the vault and get out."

"For once, I agree with you" Plasmius said, "lead the way."

Jack flew over the wall while Plasmius simply ghosted through it, and the two made their way to the vault where the Shen Gong Wu were kept.

"You were right" Jack said as they continued along "I need to be less nervous. We're nearly to the vault and there's not a sign of those Xiaolin losers. Not that I couldn't defeat them if I really wanted to."

"Of course" Plasmius replied sarcastically.

Jack opened the secret passage that led to the vault and made his way down the stairs.

"Okay, those losers always keep the Wu in these little drawers" he explained "we'll just search all of them until we find it."

"Not today Spicer!" came the familiar Brazilian voice.

"Man, don't you guys ever sleep?" Jack asked.

"I'm not sure why you're in the vault, but I'm sure it's not for anything good" Rai replied "so I suggest you leave before I give you an old fashioned butt kicking."

"I'll handle the boy, you find the heart thing" Plasmius said, before floating towards Rai.

"What do you think you can do against me?" he asked "in case you forgot, I'm immune to most attacks. Now do us all a favor and get out of the way."

"And in case you forgot, my wind powers did quite a number on you last time" Rai said "but maybe you need a reminder. Blade of the Nebula, wind!" he shouted, sending forth a mighty blast.

But Plasmius had anticipated this and simply activated his ghostly forcefield. "You'll have to do better than that" he cackled "let me show you."

Immediately, he split into four identical copies. "Which one is the real me?" they asked, "can you figure it out?"

"No problem, I'll just take care of all of you, Typhoon Boom, wind!"

The massive gust of wind succeeded in destroying Plasmius' doubles, but had little effect on the prime one.

"You are really beginning to bug me!" he said "I think it's time to take G.O.O.D down a hero!" and he began firing ectoplasmic blasts.

Rai effortlessly dodged them, then countered with another blast from the Blade of the Nebula, which this time knocked Plasmius loopy.

"You may be half-ghost, but you're all lame" Rai replied "now how about telling me what you were doing in the vault?"

"Sphere of Yun!"

Suddenly, Rai found himself encased in the giant bubble formed by that particular Wu.

"Not so smart now, are ya?" a triumphant Jack asked, the Heart of Jong in his other hand.

"I could've handled him, you know" Plasmius said angrily.

"Yeah, but I've always wanted to do that" Jack replied "anyway, I got the heart, so let's blow this place."

Then he turned to the imprisoned Rai "so long Xiaolin loser!" he said, cackling evilly before teleporting away.

"Man, this stinks" Rai said "I gotta get out of this thing and call the others."

-----

_Langley Falls, VA: later that day_

Those that knew Hayley Smith knew she was a tough, independent young girl. She was always crusading for the rights of the homeless and the destitute and was a vegetarian (albeit a very lax one). And it was her moral fiber that a pair of nefarious individuals hoped to exploit for their own evil purposes.

"Here she comes, get ready" a disguised agent #1 told his partner.

The two had disguised themselves as members of a homeless outlook shelter, and had disguised their van to match. As such, they wore casual clothes over their normal gray uniforms.

"Pardon me young lady" #1 said as Hayley approached "could you spare a minute of your time."

"Yeah, we represent a place that helps the homeless…um, get homes, and junk" agent #2 replied.

"Like 'Habitat for Humanity?'" Hayley asked.

"Uh, sure" #1 replied "and we're looking for local volunteers to help us attend the needy. Interested?"

"Am I!" Hayley replied excitedly "I'm just sorry there aren't more kind souls like yours in this world."

"Yeah, we're great" #1 replied "if you could just get in the truck, we can get started."

"Well, I really should tell my parents where I'm going" Hayley said.

"Don't worry, we'll call them for you" #1 replied.

"You don't know their number" Hayley added.

"Well, wait until we're on the road, then give it to us" #1 answered.

"I guess" Hayley said "after all, the homeless can't wait."

So saying, she climbed in the back of the van, which was barren.

"Say, how are we supposed to help the homeless if there's nothing in here?" she asked.

"We're um, going to pick the stuff up" #2 added.

"I'm sorry, but something about this doesn't seem right" Hayley replied "you should at least have something back here."

"And we do" #1 replied "you! Now #2!"

With that, #2 grabbed Hayley from behind and put a chloroform soaked rag over her face. She struggled, but was soon overcome by the fumes and fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Excellent, I'll radio Dr. Phibes and tell him we've got the girl" #1 said "then we can get out of here."

"So we're not helping the homeless?" #2 asked.

"No you idiot, that was just our cover!" #1 shouted "you were here when I planned it!"

#2 began to cry "you don't have to call me an idiot" he said "I have feelings ya know!"

"Oh brother" #1 replied "okay #2, I'm sorry I called you an idiot. You're a great partner and I couldn't do this without you."

#2's face lit up like a little kid "you really mean that?" he asked.

"Yeah sure, whatever" #1 replied "let's just get out of here before someone sees us."

"You got it, best buddy!" #2 said happily, climbing into the passenger's seat.

"Great, now I have to deal with this the whole trip" #1 grumbled as he drove the van towards its' destination.

-----

_G.O.O.D Headquarters, 4 minutes earlier. _

Leo had received Rai's news about the E.V.I.L attack at the temple, and was quite puzzled.

"I don't like this at all" he said "E.V.I.L hasn't done anything in the last few weeks and suddenly they're active? Something's up and I know it's not good."

Just then, Ace entered the room, "eh, I hear we got problems doc" he said.

Leo nodded "Raimundo just called me and told me that Jack & Plasmius made off with one of his Shen Gong Wu items."

"Any clue what they need it for?"

"No" Leo said "but if it's in their hands, it can't be good. I'm sure they'll strike again. When they do, gather whomever you can and take care of them."

"Not a problem doc" Ace replied, "but, ya do know some of the team is hanging out with Danny. He wanted ta show them his hometown or something. I didn't go cause I wasn't sure how well they'd receive a talking rabbit."

"Well we can only hope we won't need Danny's help today" Leo replied "but I'd feel a lot better if I knew what E.V.I.L was planning."

----------

In the next chapter, E.V.I.L steals the next item in their quest to rebuild the Gauntlet. Plus, an old enemy of Danny resurfaces.


	2. Freak out of jail

_Amity Park, that very moment_

As Ace had said, Danny was showing several of his teammates around his hometown.

"This is a great place to live" Danny said, "well, except for the frequent ghost attacks."

"Did you say, 'ghost'?" Ron asked "Oh man, look at the time, I need to get Rufus home for his feeding."

"Relax Ron, Danny's half-ghost, remember?" Kim said.

"Yeah, and besides, he puts the smackdown on ghosts all the time, don't ya Danny?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, so there's absolutely nothing to worry about" Danny replied. "Anyway, I can't wait for you guys to meet Sam & Tucker. They're my best friends and you're going to love them."

"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine" Jake said.

"Do we get to meet your family too?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, but I want you to know ahead of time that they're a little eccentric" Danny explained.

"After all the crazy things we've seen, they can't be that bad" Kim replied.

"You'll see" Danny replied.

-----

_Langley Falls VA, 2:15 p.m._

Over at the home of CIA agent Stan Smith, Hayley's father, trouble was brewing.

Or not.

"What was the deal with ALF?" Roger asked Stan, as both sat on the couch "he gets to be on _Hollywood Squares_ and had his own talk show and he's not even a real alien. Lucky puppet bastard."

"Ah ALF" Stan said wistfully "you weren't ready to compete with the Lenos and the Lettermans of the world."

Then the phone rang "Francine, get the phone!" Stan shouted.

"She went out grocery shopping, remember?" Roger said, "you should try it once in a while, since you eat like a pig! Ya ever heard of dieting, fatty?"

Stan ignored him and picked up the phone. "Hello, Stan Smith" he said.

"Listen up Mr. Smith" came the voice on the other end "we've got your daughter and if you ever want to see her again, you'll do exactly as we say."

"Who is this?" Stan asked "are you those AmWay people again?" and he shook his fist "cause if you are…"

"No, we're not with AmWay" the man said "now listen carefully. You are going to use your government connections to release a criminal named Freakshow. If you don't, you'll never see your daughter alive again."

"Uh-huh, yeah, got it" Stan replied nonchalantly.

"You have three hours to comply" the man added, then hung up the phone.

"Who was it? The Dish Network people?" Roger asked "please tell me you said yes!"

"It was some weird guy telling me he'd kidnapped Hayley" Stan explained "and I need to free a criminal or he'll kill her."

"Oh" Roger replied nonchalantly.

Stan said nothing and went back to watching his show. Suddenly, the conversation dawned on him.

"Sweet Ronald Reagan, Hayley's been kidnapped!" he exclaimed "well whoever did this isn't going to get away with it! I'm going to show them when you mess with the bull, you get the horns…of death."

"Except that you don't know who kidnapped Hayley or where she's being held" Roger added.

"Oh yeah" Stan replied "but I know how to find out. To the Stan mobile!" he said, running outside.

"If he thinks I'm going after him, he's crazy" Roger said, turning back to the TV.

-----

_WOOHP HQ, CA, 2:25 p.m._

"Ah, the pride and joy of my hated brother" Terence said upon observing the building "too bad we can't trash the place, but we have a job to do."

"What are we here for again?" Drakken asked.

"This" Terence replied, showing Drakken a blueprint "this is a new shapeshifting device my brother's working on."

"Now all we have to do is get in" Drakken said "I don't suppose you know a way in?"

"Of course I do" Terence said "I escaped from here, didn't I?"

Soon Drakken & Terence were travelling through the vents of the large headquarters, making their way towards the lab.

"Are you sure you know where this place is?" Drakken asked.

"Unless they moved it since I was here last" Terence replied, "ah here we are, as I suspected."

Terence melted the vent with a mini-laser, and both he and Drakken dropped into the lab.

"Pretty lax security for a high-tech lab" Drakken commented.

"That's because my dear brother doesn't know we're here" Terence explained " so let's grab the device and bolt before he figures out."

"Do you think we could take some of this other stuff too?" Drakken asked hopefully, "I'm in the market for some new technology."

"Later" Terence shouted, then approached the table containing the device, which resembled one of the girls' X-Powders.

"I can't believe this is what we came all this way for" Terence replied "oh well."

He grabbed the device, but suddenly, alarms began to go off.

"Ahh, they're on to us!" Drakken shouted "what'll we do, I didn't bring any weaponry!"

"And you don't need any" Terence replied, "we can just teleport out of here, remember?"

"Oh yeah" Drakken replied, before both men disappeared. Moments later, a number of WOOHP agents appeared in the room, weapons drawn.

"No one appears to be here" one said.

"Well search the area" another commanded "the alarms don't go off for no reason. Someone was here and we need to know why."

-----

Meanwhile, at the CIA Headquarters, Stan was pulling up the file on Freakshow.

"Okay Mr. Show, lets find out why you're so important" he said.

"Hmm, he doesn't have any affiliation to any terrorist organizations. Not even to a militia, and those guys will let anybody join. Doesn't have any skills in bomb making or safecracking. What the hell is so important about this guy?"

Stan looked over the file some more "says here he was put in prison for robbery. That's it? Hayley was kidnapped for some douche with a misdemeanor? No, there has to be more to it than that. And there's only one way I can find out what that is…"

So, after using his clearance to release Freakshow, Stan drove the criminal to a far off location, where the kidnappers told him to meet them.

"Thanks so much for the hospitality agent Smith" Freakshow said calmly "I didn't think the government cared."

"Shut your piehole, scumbag!" Stan said, "normally, I'd have left you to rot in jail, but some goons kidnapped my daughter and wanted your release in exchange for her."

"Really?" Freakshow asked "I'm touched that someone out there cares about me. I could cry, but I don't do that."

Stan grabbed the evil ringmaster by his coat "cut the crap" he said "you tell me right now why these goons are interested in you, or so help me…"

"I assure you agent Smith, I'm as confused by this as you are" Freakshow replied.

"Well there must be some reason" Stan replied "and Gun and I are going to learn it."

With that, he pulled out his pistol. "How about it Gun, you ready to kill some scumbags? I thought so."

Having reached the rendezvous point, Stan exited the car, poking Freakshow in the back with Gun.

"Don't try anything" Stan replied, before walking forward with his hostage.

"Hello, kidnappers?" he shouted "I brought that guy you wanted. Show yourselves!"

"Glad to see you could come, agent Smith" a German voice said from the shadows.

"Klaus?" Stan asked, confused.

"Bring Freakshow over here" the voice commanded.

"First show me Hayley" Stan ordered.

After a few minutes, Hayley was brought into the light. Her hands were tied behind her back, a cloth jammed between her lips, and her green bandanna had been used to blindfold her.

"Now send him over here" the German commanded.

"I've got a better idea" Stan said "how about instead, I kill you, and this weirdo" he said, gesturing to Freakshow.

"I'd just like to point out that I have nothing to do with this at all" Freakshow added.

"Game over" Stan said, "you should have played a better game, like _Candyland _or _Chutes and Ladders_. Instead, you fell right into my trap…my _Mouse Trap_. But unlike that game, the trap won't fall apart, causing you to get angry and turn the board over in disgust. Wait, what was I talking about again? Oh yeah, eat lead!"

But before Stan could fire, someone knocked him out from behind.

"Thank you, that vas getting annoying" the German voice replied "come vith me Freakshow, ve have much to discuss."

"Who are you?" Freakshow asked.

"All vill be explained in time" the man said "just follow me to the van."

"What do we do with the girl?" another voice asked.

"We shall keep her as a hostage, as a message to her father for trying to take me out" the German man replied, "now let's go."

Carrying the struggling and murmuring Hayley back to the van, the villains took off.

-----

After a few minutes, Freakshow was free of his handcuffs.

"Look, I appreciate you setting all this up to get me out of prison, but I'm sure you didn't do it out of the goodness of your heart."

Dr. Phibes turned to face Freakshow, "you are correct in thinking that" he said, "you see, I need your help vith something. I trust you are familiar vith, the Reality Gauntlet?"

"Of course I know of it" Freakshow replied "but I had heard that it was destroyed."

"It vas" Phibes replied "but not the other one."

"Other one?" Freakshow asked, "you're telling me there's _another _Reality Gauntlet?"

Phibes shook his head "gauntlets do usually come in pairs, Mr. Show" he said "und since you wrote the book on the first one, you are going to help me find it."

"If I didn't know another one existed, what makes you believe I can help you find it?" Freakshow asked.

"You are reputed to be knowledgeable in the supernatural und magical" Phibes replied "surely you have some idea vere it could be?"

Freakshow thought for a bit: _if what he says is true, then I can finally make myself Ringmaster of all reality! But first, perhaps I can take advantage of the situation…_

"I think I know where I can find a clue to its' location" he replied "are you familiar with a city called, Amity Park?"

---------------------

In the next chapter, E.V.I.L goes after the next part of the Gauntlet, while Danny introduces the others to Sam, Tucker & Jazz. But their mirthful celebrations are short lived as L.A.M.E shows up to cause trouble.


	3. A Nasty time ruined

Speaking of said town, Danny and the others were still there, and Danny was just introducing everyone to his friends, Tucker Foley and Samantha Manson.

"Guys, these are my teammates from that group I was telling you about" Danny said "everyone, this is Tucker & Sam, my two best friends."

"Pleasure to meet you all" Tucker said "especially you" he added to Kim.

"Hey, back off buddy, she's spoken for!" Ron shouted.

"Man, all the good ones are always taken, or have pepper spray" Tucker whined.

"Danny's told us a lot about G.O.O.D and all his travels around the world" Sam said "we're really glad he's getting a chance to prove what a great hero he is."

"Yeah, but would it kill him to include us once in a while?" Tucker asked "I've always wanted to visit Japan, it's like a Mecca for tech geeks like myself."

"You guys want to get some lunch?" Danny asked.

"Sure" Kim replied "where do you recommend?"

"Nasty Burger" Danny said "don't let the name fool you, the food is edible. Most of the time."

"Not sure I feel comfortable eating at a place with 'nasty' in the title" Ron said "you guys don't have a Bueno Nacho around here by any chance? Please."

"Bueno what?" Tucker replied.

Ron sighed "Bueno Nacho really needs to start expanding" he said "I can't keep living like this!"

-----

While they headed for Nasty Burger, L.A.M.E was headed to Amity Park. And inside the van, Phibes was presenting his new guest with a gift.

"My staff!" Freakshow shouted happily "how did you get it?"

"Actually, it's a replica designed by Dr. Trebla" he said, indicating the scientist "as you can see, it's virtually identical to the original."

"Except it can't control ghosts" Freakshow added.

"I'm a scientist, not a magician" Dr. Trebla said.

"Fortunately, ve have our own magician on staff. Charmcaster, if you vould" Phibes said.

Charmcaster grabbed the staff and clutched the glass ball in her hands. Then she began to recite an incantation; after a few minutes, she returned the staff to Freakshow.

"It should control ghosts now" she said "but my powers aren't very strong, so I can't guarantee how long the effects will last."

"Doesn't matter" Freakshow said "there's only one ghost I need to control anyway."

-----

Meanwhile, in Orchid Bay city, as June attended school, she had no idea that her house would soon be under attack.

"I never thought I'd return here again" Magnacat said, "it's too bad I don't have time to deal with the Te Xuan Ze, or her grandmother."

"I'm in no mood to tangle with her" Huntsman added "let's just get what we came for."

"Agreed" Magncat said, easily entering June's house "despite being the Te Xuan Ze, she's quite foolish for not bothering to protect her own home from magical creatures. It shall be her undoing. Come, the item we need is certain to be in her room."

Sneaking into the room labeled "June" the two villains proceeded to peruse her collection of magical items.

"Ahh, here it is!" Magnacat said, holding up a glowing green gem "the Dreamstone. Again, how foolish it was for the Te Xuan Ze to leave it in plain sight."

"Let's get out of here before she returns" Huntsman suggested. Magnacat nodded and the two villains disappeared in a beam of light.

-----

Back in Amity Park, Danny and his new pals had settled in at Nasty Burger.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

"It's no Bueno Nacho, but it's good" Ron replied.

"We thought you'd like it" Tucker said, "I was hooked the first time I ate here."

"I don't normally eat here much, since I'm a vegetarian" Sam explained "luckily they have salads or I wouldn't eat here at all."

Suddenly, the crew heard sounds of disturbance outside, and dashed from their table to see what was the matter. Outside, familiar super villains were wreaking havoc.

"Aw man, not those L.A.M.E losers again!" Jake exclaimed "I thought we smoked those dudes last time."

"I guess they didn't get the message" Danny replied "looks like we'll have to remind them. Cover me guys" he ordered Sam & Tucker, who surrounded him to block him from sight.

"I'm going ghost!"

"I'll join ya" Jake added, ducking behind a table "dragon up!"

The two transformed superheroes zoomed out of the restaurant, with Kim, Ron and the others at their heels.

"I can't believe you guys are back" Danny said confronting the villains "that fall off your van must have affected your brains."

"Tough talk ghost boy" Toymaker said "but you won't be so brash when we're done with you!" And he pulled a handful of marbles from his jacket. "These are my new Krank Co brand marbles, a guaranteed bang for any party…or superhero."

Then he tossed them at Danny; they exploded, but had no effect.

"Dude, I'm half ghost" Danny said "I don't think anything you've got can hurt me."

"Perhaps not " Ragdoll said "but we can hurt your little friends."

To prove his point, he did a flip and landed in front of Sam & Tucker. Of course, he neglected to consider Kim on the sidelines, who plowed into him with one of her trademark kicks.

"You villains never learn," she said.

"Actually, we do" Private H.I.V.E replied, "in fact, we've learned a lot from our last encounter."

"Unfortunately for you, I wasn't around then" Kim said.

"Doesn't matter" Private H.I.V.E replied, "I can handle you or any of your friends."

"Guess again!" Danny shouted, firing several blasts at him. Jake followed up with a fire blast and a whap from his tail.

The combined onslaught was enough to send him retreating.

"Hey, get back here!" Toymaker shouted to his fleeing teammate. After he turned around, he saw Danny floating right in front of him.

"A piece of advice; get into another line of work" Danny said, before punching the villain off his Cosmo Flyer. He hit the ground and ran for the hills, Ragdoll in hot pursuit.

"Well that was easy" Kim commented.

"Too easy" Danny added, as he floated to Earth "and for what reason did those lamewads attack us anyway?"

"I don't know" Jake replied "and I think we'd better find out."

-----

Several minutes later, Freakshow was berating the villains for their failures. "You idiots!" he shouted "your job was to simply keep the ghost boy occupied while I put him under my control. How could you have failed such a simple assignment?"

"Don't take that tone with us" Ragdoll said "I don't know if you've checked, but we don't take orders from you."

"Yeah, pale guy!" Private H.I.V.E added "we're only helping you cause Dr. Phibes told us to. Besides, how are we supposed to fight a ghost? None of our weapons work on them."

"And we also weren't expecting his friends to be there either" Toymaker added.

"Okay, so the ghost boy has some help" Freakshow said "no matter. I will control him and then I will have my revenge!"

"And use him to locate the second Reality Gauntlet" Toymaker added.

"What? Oh right, that too" Freakshow replied "but first I need a way to lure him out. And I think I know just how to do it. But this time, don't screw it up!" he shouted, until Private H.I.V.E brandished his shield at him "that is, if you don't mind" he replied nervously.

-----

Meanwhile, Danny and the others made their way to his house, hoping to discover what L.A.M.E was planning.

"Danny, why haven't you introduced me to these new friends of yours?" Jack asked "I'm Jack Fenton, you've probably heard of me."

"Not really" Jake replied.

Jack's face fell, "I see" he said, "well you will, when I finally catch a ghost."

"You have to excuse my dad" Danny said, once Jack was out of hearing range "he's obsessed with ghosts."

"It's cool" Ron replied, "we all have crazy parents."

"Come on, we'll go down to the lab, maybe we can find out some information there."

Within minutes, Danny was surfing the net, trying to find a connection to the mysterious super villain attack.

"Nothing" he replied, "but it just doesn't make sense. Those jerks were obviously after something, but what?"

"Dude, what's that?" Tucker asked, pointing to something on the screen. Danny noticed it was a news article labeled "madman let free."

Clicking on it, Danny read the full story. "Earlier today, the crazed criminal known as Freakshow was released from prison for unknown reasons. Oh man!"

"Who is this guy?" Jake asked.

"Some wacko circus ringmaster that can control ghosts" Danny explained "I've already fought him twice, although he may not remember our last encounter, since I kinda erased it from his mind."

"You can do that?" Ron asked, astonished.

"It's a long story, but a very interesting one" Danny replied.

"Ooh let me tell it!" Tucker suggested "I love telling that story."

So Danny explained all about the Reality Gauntlet and how Freakshow possessed it and nearly took over the Earth.

"That is some story" Kim said, "makes what I do seem pale in comparison."

"I liked the part with the comic book convention" Ron added.

"You don't think Freakshow's sudden release from jail has anything to do with what happened earlier today?" Sam asked.

"I'm starting to" Danny said "but I'm still not sure how L.A.M.E figures into it."

-----

Meanwhile, back at G.O.O.D HQ, Leo was reviewing some recent calls he had received.

"According to these reports, Raimundo, Sam, & June have acknowledged items were stolen from them. And in at least one of the cases, E.V.I.L was confirmed to have been involved."

"Whatta think it means doc?" Ace asked.

"I'm not sure, but it can't be good" Leo said "we need everyone we can get for this one. Call Danny and the others in Amity Park and tell them to get here ASAP. Whatever E.V.I.L is planning, we can't wait until they spring it."

-----

Back at the lab, Danny received a call on his radio.

"Hello? Are you sure? Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can" he said, before turning it off.

"That was Leo" he explained "he said that E.V.I.L has been stealing things from various locations. He wants us to get back to HQ and discuss it."

"Aww, but we we're just having fun!" Ron whined.

"Business comes before pleasure, you know that" Kim said "let's go."

"Can we come?" Tucker asked "I've always wanted to see your base."

"Okay" Danny said "but we need to hurry."

"Hurry where?" a female voice asked. Everyone turned around and saw a redheaded girl standing by the stairs.

"Look Jazz, I've got something I've got to do, can you cover for me?" Danny asked.

"Is this ghost business, or 'the other' business?" Jazz asked, looking suspiciously at Danny's other friends.

"Look Jazz, I'm part of a team now, and yeah, it's hard on me, but I'm proud to do it."

Jazz sighed "it's hard on me too Danny" she explained "I worry about you enough when you're off fighting ghosts. But now you're out there, battling big time villains, and I just keep wondering, 'what if this is the day he doesn't come back?' How would I break that to mom and dad?"

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm half ghost remember, I can't be hurt by conventional weapons" Danny explained "besides, this is important!"

"Okay, I'll cover for you" Jazz said, "but at least let me see you off."

"No problem sis" Danny replied, giving her a hug.

"Isn't that sweet KP?" Ron asked "I wish I had that kind of relationship with my sibling."

"You don't have any siblings" Kim replied.

"Why can't you let me have my fantasies?" Ron asked.

----------------

Next time, L.A.M.E attacks, Jazz is kidnapped and Danny is injured. Will he recover in time to save his sister? You'll just have to read and find out.


	4. All that Jazz

A few minutes later, the motley crew left the house and made their way down the street.

"How are you planning to get to Los Angeles?" Jazz asked "certainly you don't expect to fly all the way there. I mean, fly as a ghost, not in a plane."

"I knew what you meant" Danny said "and actually, we've got our ride covered."

"Well, have a safe trip" Jazz said "I'll tell mom and dad you're sleeping over at Tucker's house or something. But try to not to be gone for more than a day, or it's going to be hard to fool them."

"I'll try" Danny said, "well, I guess all there is to do now is…" Suddenly, members of L.A.M.E emerged "run in terror!"

"You know what to do" Charmcaster said, "so do it!"

The villains rushed at Sam; "hold on Sam, I'm coming!" Danny shouted, before being knocked aside by the Private

"Beat it, you runt" he said, before grabbing the screaming Sam.

Danny was knocked into a cluster of nearby trash cans; ducking behind them, he transformed and headed into the fray.

"Now you tell the ghost child that if he wants to see his friend again…" Private H.I.V.E began.

"Why don't you tell me yourself, I'm right here!" Danny said, plowing into the villain.

Sam flew free from his grip, and quickly ran towards the safety of the others heroes, who were ready for a fight.

Ragdoll charged at Danny, but he sidestepped him, and he crashed into Sypher. Private H.I.V.E soon recovered and charged Danny, but he avoided the blows and blasted away his shield with an ectoplasmic blast. Then, he grabbed him by the arm and swung him into his other two compatriots.

"Well, that's that" Danny said, dusting off his hands "that was actually way too easy, I was expecting a challenge…" his words were cut off when something blasted him from behind.

"Danny!" Jazz screamed and rushed over to check on her fallen brother. But she was aware of someone looming over her; looking up, she noticed Charmcaster standing above Danny's injured body.

"I hope my blast didn't kill him" she said "we do need him in good condition, after all."

"Why did you do that?" Jazz asked, her voice a mix of anger and fear.

"Can't tell you" Charmcaster replied "say, who are you anyway?"

"Me?" Jazz replied nervously "I'm just an innocent bystander, with no connection to the ghost boy at all."

"But you knew his name was Danny" Charmcaster said, "and we saw you talking with him earlier."

"Danny's a very common name" Jazz replied nervously.

"You might be more useful than the Goth girl" Charmcaster said, and before Jazz could think to run, she was wrapped up in mystical energy "so you're coming with me."

"Guess again you Sabrina knock-off" Jake said, fully transformed into his lithe dragon form "the girl stays, but you can go."

"Oh I'll go all right" she replied "with the girl."

Jake dived straight at her, but in a puff of smoke, she was gone. "Aww man!" Jake said, "now what do we do?"

"We tend to Danny" Kim said "then we tell him his sister was just kidnapped."

-----

Several moments later, at the old warehouse, the members of L.A.M.E arrived.

"Did it work? Did you grab the Goth girl?" Freakshow asked.

"Not quite" Charmcaster said, "but I grabbed someone just as important." She dumped the now bound & gagged Jazz on the warehouse floor. "We saw this girl talking with the ghost boy" she explained "I think she may be his girlfriend."

_Hmm, there's something familiar about her_ Freakshow thought "well if that's true, she'll be the perfect bait. Put her in with the other one, then we'll wait for the ghost boy to come."

X complied and tossed Jazz roughly into a storeroom. Once she was sure she was alone, she began to rub her gag on her floor, until it was loosened.

"Help!" she screamed "somebody please help me!"

"Save your breath, it's useless" came another female voice.

"Who said that?" Jazz asked, squirming until she was in a kneeling position.

She saw the source of the voice; it was a teenage girl with raven colored hair, who was sitting on a nearby crate.

"I've been here for roughly an hour and a half now, and screamed like crazy when they took off the gag" she explained "no one's going to hear us but them. So, why'd they kidnap you?"

"They want my brother, for some reason" Jazz explained "you?"

"My dad's a CIA agent and they needed me to force him to release that Freakshow guy"

Hayley explained "and then when he tried to kill them, they kept me as a lesson. Now I'm here till they decide how to eliminate me. So, what's the deal with your brother, is he somebody important?"

"He's…a scientist" Jazz lied.

"So they probably want his formula or something right?" Hayley asked.

"Yup, you got it" Jazz responded. _At least she doesn't know the truth _Jazz thought _oh Danny, wherever you are, please hurry! _

-----

Back at Fenton Works, Danny was slowly coming to.

"I think he's waking up" Tucker said.

Indeed, Danny slowly opened his eyes and tried to bring everyone into focus.

"Guys, what happened?" he asked "last thing I remember, we were fighting those L.A.M.E wads, and then I got hit with something."

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"I still feel a little weak" Danny said, "what the heck happened out there?"

"That magic chick hit you with some kind of fireball" Jake explained.

"And I'm afraid it gets worse" Kim replied "they kidnapped Jazz."

"What!" Danny shouted "okay, that's it! I'm finding their hideout and officially busting some heads!"

"'Busting some heads?'" Sam asked, "who are you, Dash? Look Danny, we need to be smart about this. You got really hurt out there, and if you go off all angry, then you could be hurt again."

"But I just can't abandon Jazz!" Danny shouted.

"And you won't" Kim replied "we'll look for her, and once we find her, then we can plot a course of action."

"That might be sooner than you think" Tucker said, "I used my PDA to check any signs of unusual activity. Seems that there's a whole bunch coming from an old warehouse."

"If that's where they are, then that's where I'm going!" Danny said, "I'm going ghost!"

"Wait!" Sam shouted, but it was too late, Danny already flew out the window and into the night.

"So, should we follow him?" Ron asked.

--------------------------

In the final chapter, Danny falls into the villains' trap and once again becomes a pawn of Freakshow. Will he snap out of it in time? Also, a close "relative" of Danny's shows up to help his friends.


	5. Mesmerized by the light

As the others decided on what to do about Danny, they didn't notice a tiny shape come flying through the window.

"Am I interrupting something?" a little girl voice asked.

The heroes turned and found themselves looking at what appeared to be a miniature version of Danny, except for the sex and slightly altered costume.

"Ahh! Scary mini girl Danny!" Ron exclaimed.

"Is this guy for real?" the girl asked, pointing to the frightened Ron.

"How'd you get in here?" Kim asked "and who are you?"

"Name's Danielle, but I prefer Dani. That's with one 'n' and an 'I', by the way. And who might you be?"

So Kim explained about G.O.O.D and Danny's recent battle and his rushing off to save Jazz.

"Well what are we sitting around here for?" Dani asked "we've got save my cousin."

"Hold up. Danny never mentioned having a cousin" Jake said.

"Well, I'm not his biological cousin" Dani explained "it just sounds better than 'genetic female clone of half ghost superhero.'"

"O-kay" Ron replied "this is getting into some pretty weird territory."

"She can fill us in later" Kim said "right now, we have to find Danny before he gets into real trouble."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jake asked, "let's do it."

-----

A few minutes later, Danny arrived at the warehouse; he flew up to the window and peered inside.

There was no sign of Jazz, but a pair of uniformed guards were on duty. Going intangible, Danny overshadowed the skinnier of the two.

"I can't believe Phibes left us on guard duty" Agent #2 whined "I mean, he has all these super villains now, can't one of them do it?"

"Yeah" Danny in Agent #1's body replied "say, do you remember where that girl we kidnapped is?"

"And you call me stupid" #2 replied "yeah, she's right behind that door."

"Thank you, fellow guard" Danny's voice answered "I forgot for a moment there."

"Are you okay #1? Your voice sounds really weird" #2 asked.

"Yes, I am fine" Danny replied, then quickly left #1's body.

"That was weird" #1 said "I felt like somebody took over my body for a minute there."

"Like an alien?" #2 asked hopefully "I knew they were real!"

"Shut up" #1 replied.

Danny avoided the bickering guards and slipped through the door. He saw Jazz sitting on the floor, talking to another girl he'd never met before.

"I think some of his ideas are okay, but he has more failures than successes" Jazz said.

"Jazz" Danny whispered.

"Danny, is that you?" Jazz asked.

"Who's that? Your brother the scientist?" Hayley asked.

"You told her I was a scientist?"

"Well I couldn't tell her you were a ghost superhero, now could I?"

"How the heck am I supposed to get you out of here without her seeing me?" Danny asked.

"Is someone there?" Hayley asked, "I hear a voice but I don't see anyone."

_That gives me an idea _Danny thought; still invisible, he flew over to Hayley and pulled her headband down over her eyes.

"Hey!" she shouted.

Once she was distracted, Danny made himself solid and quickly untied Jazz.

"Oh Danny, I thought I'd never see you again" she said, hugging her brother "but we've got to get out of here. Freakshow's back, and he kidnapped me so he could lure you into a trap."

"And it appears my plan worked like a charm" a voice from the doorway said.

Danny & Jazz turned and found Freakshow standing there, flanked by members of L.A.M.E.

"Good to see you again ghost boy" he said "I had plenty of time to think about you while I was rotting in prison."

"Well you'll get plenty more, cause you're going back there!" Danny said, charging up his hands and zooming forward.

But as he came mere inches from the crooked ringmaster, he pulled out his scepter.

"Remember this?" Freakshow asked, grinning wickedly.

"Not again…" Danny said; he attempted to resist, but the swirl of the scepter was so intoxicating…

"That's right ghost boy, you belong to me again" Freakshow said "and you're going to make me very wealthy and powerful. But first, I need to test your loyalty. Ghost boy, eliminate the girl."

Danny turned around to look at Jazz, his eyes red like the swirls of the scepter.

"Danny, don't do it!" Jazz pleaded "fight him Danny, he doesn't control you!"

"It's too late girl" Freakshow said "your boyfriend is under my control now."

"First of all, he's not my boyfriend" Jazz explained "and secondly, you'll never control him!"

"Oh really?" Freakshow asked, "oh ghost boy, do me a favor and eliminate that annoying redhead for me."

Danny turned around again and slowly floated towards Jazz, like a zombie might approach a potential victim.

Jazz backed up as far as she could go, "come on Danny, fight him!" she pleaded "this isn't you, you're not capable of this."

"Face it girly, he's mine now" Freakshow said, "and soon, no one will stop me!"

"Guess again weirdo!" Dani's voice sounded from nearby.

Freakshow barely had time to react before the girl halfa plowed into him, knocking the scepter from his hands.

"Noooooo!" he shouted, but it was too late; it hit the floor and the glass shattered. When it did, his hold on Danny also ended.

"Ooh man, my head hurts" Danny replied "what happened?"

"Your friends broke Freakshow's staff" Jazz explained.

"Good, now I can help them break his face" Danny replied and zoomed off to join them.

"Don't just stand there you fools, help me! Freakshow ordered.

"Like I told you earlier, we take our orders from Phibes" Ragdoll said "in fact, I'm beginning to think you know nothing about the gauntlet we seek."

"T-t-that's not true, I know plenty" Freakshow lied, "in fact, I promise to help you find it if you save me."

"All right, but only because you're essential to Phibes' plan" Charmcaster said. She grabbed the villain then turned to the others "fall back, we'll get them next time" she ordered, before running out the door.

"Well, this has been eventful" Danny said "and I think we still have a meeting to attend."

-----

Several hours later, at G.O.O.D HQ, Leo explained the reports to Danny and the others.

"This does seem weird" Kim said "why steal only those things?"

"I have Don researching it now" he said "but I told you this to keep you on your toes. We don't know what Vilgax is planning, and we need to be ready."

-----

Meanwhile, on his spaceship, Vilgax had just received the last item he needed.

"As you requested Vilgax, one gauntlet" Karai said, "but what good is it?"

"By itself, it is useless" Vilgax replied "but when combined with my soon to be forged gems, it will grant me unlimited power!"

"We're ready to begin sir" the Robot Lt. announced.

"Do it" Vilgax ordered.

The lieutenant pulled a switch and a device began to scan the items that E.V.I.L had retrieved. Once it was done scanning, the computer compiled the necessary data. After a few moments, three tiny gemstones emerged from a tiny slot.

"Behold, my newly forged gems of Form, Dreams, and Life" Vilgax said "combined with the activation gem, which I had made earlier today, they will be the source of my new Reality Gauntlet."

"So, all you gotta do is put them in the glove, and poof, you're all powerful?" Jack asked.

"Actually, the gems will need an influx of magic in order to work" Vilgax said "but I'm already close to finding a source of said magic."

Just then, Weather Vane & Magness appeared aboard the ship.

"We checked around for someone to supply the magic you wanted" Magness said "and I think we've found just the guy."

-----------------------

Next time:

Vilgax dispatches his men to the home of Dr. Byron Orpheus, a powerful necromancer in hopes that he will supply the magic to power his new gauntlet. When L.A.M.E also has their sights set on Orpheus, G.O.O.D shows up to protect him, and run afoul of his landlord, the cranky Dr. Venture. Can our heroes stop both teams of villains from achieving their objective? Find out, in the next part of the Reality Saga "Venture a Guess."


End file.
